DENVER (KDVR) -- The city and county of Denver is joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration after a memo said transportation funding could be jeopardized for failing to follow the administration's policies on immigration enforcement and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Mayor Mike Johnson's Office said a lawsuit was filed this week in Federal District Court in the Western District of Washington at Seattle. The mayor's office announced Friday that Denver joined several counties, cities and plaintiffs suing the Trump administration "over its unlawful and unconstitutional threats to withhold grant funding for transportation programs and priorities."
The lawsuit comes after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a memo in April outlining the department's interpretation of federal law and potential consequences for DOT funding recipients that do not follow it.
"These actions are illegal and coercive in that they ignore Congress’s role in enacting policy into law and appropriating funds, have nothing to do with the substance of the grants in question, and potentially jeopardize hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in Denver and billions of dollars across the country," the mayor's office said in a press release.
The city claims that the administration doesn't have the authority to make grants contingent on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or immigration without action from Congress, and Congress can't condition grants when it's unrelated to the purposes of programs.
A collective of $300 million in federal funding was put toward Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, according to the city. Meanwhile, the Denver International Airport also uses federal funding.
Between fiscal years 2022 to 2024, the city said the Federal Aviation Administration issued approximately $310 million in grants to the airport and DIA was expecting to be eligible for $267 million in grants from 2025 to 2028.
Denver joins lawsuit against Trump Admin after $24M FEMA grants terminated"I will continue fighting for Denverites to ensure they receive the services they pay for and are entitled to receive as taxpayers,” Johnston said. “The Trump Administration is willfully breaking the law and, in ignoring the separation of powers between Congress and the White House, violating the bedrock constitutional foundation on which our country was built.”
This isn't the first lawsuit Denver has joined against the Trump Administration. In mid-May, Denver joined Chicago and Pima County in Arizona in a lawsuit against the administration, trying to recover $24 million in FEMA grants, which included millions put toward Denver migrant shelters.
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